Our Postdoctoral Fellows

Dr. Billy A. Caceres, PhD, RN, AGPCNP-BC

Postdoctoral Research Fellow

Comparative and Cost-Effectiveness Research

School of Nursing, Columbia University

Dr. Billy A. Caceres, PhD, RN, AGPCNP-BC is a postdoctoral research fellow in Comparative and Cost-Effectiveness Research at the Columbia University School of Nursing. He received his PhD in Nursing Research from the NYU Rory Meyers College of Nursing in 2017. Dr. Caceres' research focuses on identifying and intervening on modifiable risk factors for cardiovascular risk in sexual minority women. Dr. Caceres was the 2017 recipient of the Martha N. Hill New Investigator Award from the American Heart Association for his research on stress and cardiovascular disease risk in sexual minority women. Prior to completing his PhD, Dr. Caceres worked as a cardiothoracic and vascular surgery nurse at NYU Langone Health.

Thomas A. Vance, PhD

Postdoctoral Clinical and Research Fellow

Program for the Study of LGBT Health

Thomas A. Vance, Ph.D. received his doctoral degree in counseling psychology at The University of Akron. He completed his pre-doctoral internship at Boston University Medical Center at The Center for Multicultural Training in Psychology (CMTP). During his internship, he completed two yearlong rotations with focused training in working with individuals and couples who identified as transgender, gender non-binary, and gender non-conforming, as well as treating individuals and couples with severe and persistent mental illness. Dr. Vance carried a diagnostically complex caseload of patients with varying presenting concerns and needs. He also played an important role in providing psychoeducation and consultation regarding intersectionality, minority identities, and cultural responsiveness in therapeutic care.

Dr. Vance is currently a Postdoctoral clinical and research fellow at the Gender Identity Program at Columbia University Medical Center. His work examines the intersection of sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, race/ethnicity, disability, class, and other identities and experiences. In his role at the Gender Identity Program, Dr. Vance researches, practice, and advocates on the resilience of transgender people, gender non-binary youth, social justice and empowerment training related to mental health.

Cindy Veldhuis, PhD

NIH/NIAAA Ruth Kirschstein Postdoctoral Research Fellow

School of Nursing, Columbia University

Dr. Cindy Veldhuis (pronounced Veld-hice), an NIH/NIAAA Ruth Kirschstein Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Columbia University’s School of Nursing, received her PhD in Psychology from the University of Illinois at Chicago in 2016, and completed her masters (Cognitive Psychology) and bachelors (double major: Theater and Psychology) at the University of Oregon. Dr. Veldhuis has two main lines of research. The first line focuses on the effects of the 2016 presidential election and other political events on LGBTQ individuals. The second line of research, funded by an NIH Ruth Kirschstein National Research Service Award (F32), focuses the role of intimate relationships in sexual minority women’s alcohol use, and the intersections between sexual identity and race/ethnicity. Dr. Veldhuis also recently received pilot funding to fund her SOQIR (Study on Queer Intimate Relationships) study, which focuses on the health and well-being of same-sex female couples in the New York City area.

Previous LGBT Health Fellows

2016-2018: ROBERT-PAUL JUSTER, PHD

Over the last decade, Dr. Juster has developed expertise in measuring chronic stress known as allostatic load (AL) that describes the physiological dysregulations related to chronic stress and unhealthy behaviors. Contributions include AL studies in relation to aging stereotypes and geriatric depression, gender-roles and psychosomatic symptoms among workers, structural stigma and ‘coming out of the closet’ for sexual minorities, household overcrowding among the Inuit, and behavioral comorbidities among psychiatric patients. In the Division of Gender, Sexuality, and Health, working with Drs. Walter Bockting and Anke A. Ehrhardt, he researched the health and well-being of sexual minorities throughout lifespan development.

2015-2016: Philip Jai Johnson, PhD

Philip Jai Johnson, Ph.D., received his Ph.D. in clinical psychology from McGill University in Montreal. After obtaining his doctorate degree, he completed a two-year postdoctoral fellowship in the Program in Human Sexuality at the University of Minnesota, where he received extensive clinical training in addressing gender dysphoria in adults and adolescents, compulsive sexual behavior, sexual and relationship functioning difficulties, sex offender treatment, and sexual abuse recovery. His research during his fellowship explored the effects of minority stress on body image and sexual functioning in transgender people.

2014-2015: Laura Erickson-Schroth, MD, MA

The first LGBT Health Fellow (2014-2015) was Laura Erickson-Schroth, M.D., M.A., a Public Psychiatry Fellow who received her medical training at New York University. Dr. Erickson-Schroth is a member of the board of the Gay and Lesbian Medical Association and is the editor of the recently published Trans Bodies, Trans Selves, a landmark resource guide written by and for transgender people.